John Legend & Partners Join Producing Team Of Broadway’s ‘Ain’t Too Proud’ Temptations Musical

Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

John Legend’s smooth-as-silk Tony-night performance with the cast of Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations should have tipped us off: The multiple-Grammy winner, along with his partners Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius in Get Lifted Film Co., have joined the producing team of the hit Broadway musical.

During last Sunday’s broadcast of the CBS special Broadway’s Back!, Legend sang and played piano during a performance by the Ain’t Too Proud cast on a number of Temptations classics. Ain’t Too Proud currently is in rehearsals for its return to Broadway’s Imperial Theatre with a gala performance on Saturday, Oct. 16.

Legend and Jackson return to Broadway having won a Best Revival of a Play Tony as producers of August Wilson’s Jitney in 2017.

“Performing with this incredible cast is a memory I’ll always cherish,” Legend said in a statement. “The Temptations’ music is core to my own musical upbringing and is an integral part of America’s cultural heartbeat. This is a musical I love and a story I want to help share. In this pivotal time, it’s so important that we support and maintain Broadway, an essential part of the soul of New York and the entire nation. I’m honored to be a part of the Ain’t Too Proud team and the return of Broadway.”

Added Jackson, “We are thrilled to be partnering with this fantastic team to help reopen Broadway. We love the live theatrical experience, and it has been a long time coming.”

Ain’t Too Proud‘s producers Ira Pittelman and Tom Hulce said, “At the ‘Broadway’s Back!’ special, John unofficially joined the Ain’t Too Proud family. Today we make it official. We have enormous admiration and respect for John, Mike, and Ty and are thrilled they have joined our team! They have a deep love and appreciation for The Temptations, their extraordinary body of music, and their cultural significance which will be a wonderful thing for Ain’t Too Proud as we re-open on Broadway October 16 and then, in December, begin our first national tour across the country.”

The musical originally opened on Broadway on Thursday, March 21, 2019, and was nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical. With a book by Dominique Morisseau, Ain’t Too Proud features music from the iconic Motown group including “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready,” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,”, as well as a few tunes from other Motown bands. Des McAnuff directs, with Tony Award-winning choreography by Sergio Trujillo.